Audi reveals TT offroad concept 23 | 04 | 2014
TAKE A DEEP BREATH: this is how the new Audi TT offroader could look. Unveiled at this week's Beijing Motor Show, the TT offroader concept highlights — according to Audi boss Rupert Stadler — how the TT could become a family of models.
"The TT can be a family," Stadler said. "This concept shows that we can do it and long as the genetic code is kept."
And while the concept's looks focused heavily on the TT's 'genetic code' — distinctive wheel arches, narrow side glass, rear lights and the distinctive interior — Stadler emphasised the TT family would not include a saloon or a bigger car.
"The TT should be an icon," he said, "and that icon has to be respected. That means a compact car that's sporty to drive."
The four-door concept model — which Stadler hinted heavily could make production as the TT Q —combines the visual and dynamic appeal of a coupe with the practicality and adaptability of a compact SUV.
In size — it's 4390mm long, 1850mm wide and has a wheelbase of 2630mm — the TT offroad concept is close to that of the Q3. It is though a full 8cm lower in height.
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Its plug-in hybrid drive, incorporating two electric motors, provides a system output of 405bhp and returns more than 148mpg with CO2 equivalent to 45g/km.
“The Audi TT offroad concept provides a glimpse of how we might imagine a new model in the future TT family,” Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, member of the board of management for Audi technical development, said.
“It combines the sporty genes of the TT with the strengths of a compact Audi SUV. Its plug-in hybrid drive with the option of inductive charging is a major step toward the mobility of the future. We chose to present the Audi TT offroad concept in China, our second domestic market, because it represents the urban mobility of tomorrow: It is sustainable, dynamic, intelligent and connected.”
On tarmac the show car — according to Audi — is dynamic and composed, and it can easily handle more rugged terrain thanks to its high ground clearance, short overhangs and e‑tron quattro all-wheel drive. 255/40-series tyres are mounted on 21in wheels, whose delicate five-arm design draws on the look of the Audi e-tron models.
The Audi TT offroad concept is based on VW Group's versatile modular transverse matrix (MQB). The body of the show car is based on the ASF (Audi Space Frame) principle and features a hybrid concept with both steel and aluminium components.
Together with the battery package of the plug-in hybrid drive system, it gives the compact crossover a low centre of gravity, which is a prerequisite for its strong performance and agile handling.
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Jim McGill